C-BERC Launch Features Renowned Financial Law Expert
The College of Behavioral & Social Sciences and the Robert H. Smith School of Business recently combined the strengths of their criminology and criminal justice and business ethics focus areas through the establishment of the Center for the Study of Business Ethics, Regulation, and Crime (C-BERC). C-BERC is the first venture of its kind to formally link business with criminology in an academic environment. Through C-BERC, UMD seeks to scientifically confront, assess, evaluate and develop best practices at the intersections of business, ethics, regulation and crime.
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"873","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"295","style":"margin: 5px; width: 430px; height: 295px; float: left;","width":"430"}}]]"Recent headlines from major news sources highlight the critical need for C-BERC, from stories about insider trading to drug-marketing settlements to corporate compliance. Although there is a great deal of conjecture about why otherwise successful companies violate the law, as well as strong points of view about specific policies and strategies designed to prevent and control crime and victimization, there is far too little scientific investigation into these issues to answer these key questions," said C-BERC Director Dr. Sally Simpson. "The goal of C-BERC is to build a diverse scientific community of scholars and students, whose research and training will address these and other critical challenges confronting business."
The Center outlined its mission, introduced its leadership and welcomed a prominent keynote speaker at its launch event in November. Before a large crowd of academicians and business and criminology thought leaders, Columbia Law School’s Professor John C. Coffee, Jr., delivered the keynote speech “Missing in Action?: What Explains SEC Passivity” in the Heise Room of the Samuel Riggs Alumni Center.
In his welcoming remarks, BSOS Dean John Townshend remarked that the Center’s mission provides “fertile ground for collaborative research and training that will serve our students, the government and the public.”
Professor Simpson also noted that the establishment of C-BERC directly benefits UMD students and faculty—as well as national and international practitioners—in a variety of ways.
“We are developing collaborative research projects that will generate new ideas, scientific approaches and research findings that will translate into best practices and evidence-based policy,” Professor Simpson said. “We also are creating educational projects for undergraduate and graduate students that fuse training in business law, ethics and forensic investigation into a highly valuable, analytic and practical skill set.”
Saying he was pleased to be a part of the launch of such an innovative Center, Professor Coffee noted that C-BERC’s scope and resources allow for the study of business, regulation and crime in a manner that aligns with his perspective and renowned work.
“Historically, criminologists study offenders, and political scientists and organizational theorists study bureaucracies and agencies, as well as the world of government. However, I think we should approach these topics in the manner of schools of environmental studies. In other words, examining predator-prey interrelationships. In the world of white-collar crime, we look at the relationships between the enforcers and the enforcees.”
Professor Coffee went on to analyze the 2008 financial crisis, its impact on the national and global economies, and the resulting investigations and consequences that involved banks, executives and others deemed accountable. He described and critiqued legislative efforts including Dodd-Frank, and outlined how the repercussions of the 2008 crisis are affecting the financial and legal landscapes today.
Watch the video of the launch event and Professor Coffee’s keynote speech.
Published on Fri, Dec 6, 2013 - 10:41AM